Ian Powell, PricewaterhouseCoopers
PwC chief urges accountants to help prevent future financial crises
01 Oct 2008, Damian Wild, AccountancyAge
New PricewaterhouseCoopers UK chairman Ian Powell has used his first major speech to urge accountants to contribute to fixing the work financial system by creating an early warning system for future crises.
Speaking at the firm’s building public trust awards in London on Monday night, Powell said dealing with systemic risk in unregulated entities had to be a priority for regulators.
‘The real challenge is to improve our regulations and not just add more,’ he said. ‘Regulatory change is an opportunity to simplify, stream line and look at the real costs and benefits.’
Powell urged further change. ‘We need a better mechanism to flag problems, to highlight the symptoms,’ he said.
‘I want the leading accounting firms to be willing to join the top table, with business leaders, with regulators, central bankers, credit rating agencies and others to identify ways of creating an early warning system. Precisely how we do this I honestly don’t know – but if we are to learn from recent events we need to find an answer.’
Anglo American plc and Amlin plc won the overall categories for the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 respectively, while a new award for sustainability reporting went to Marks and Spencer Group plc. The people reporting award was won by Vodafone, reporting of executive remuneration by Aviva and tax reporting by Kazakhmys. The Highways Agency took the public sector award.
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Visitor comments
Get Politicians to sign up to be True & Fair view.
Push for an independant regulator to control the money supply & its value. ie control the banks & HMG ability to create bubble money.
Promote that 'public interest' bodies inc HMG act in a transparent way preferably in a responsible way so they are unable to unfairly and without warning burden the state into the future. Breaches of the above automatically triggering an election.
Improve,ethics at the top (MP's voting on own pay rules and laws only for them), and ensure transparency & disclosures.
Lobby for a law preventing companies especially banks & plcs using secrecy jurisdictions.
Consider CEO's etc potentially personally liable up to the level of bonuses awarded & paid in the prior 5 years, in a company insolvency situation.
Pay close attention to how the US/FBI deals with Wall Street later.
Refuse to pay any further money to the EU until its audits are clean at an absolute minimum.
Posted by: Browned off , 01 Oct 2008 | 00:00
Was PwC the auditor of Freddie Mac, AIG and Norther Rock?
It's a bit of irony that the auditor who issued clear opinions on businesses investing in junky instruments advices others to learn from the past. It's time to PwC to have a lesson first..
Posted by: Mark Evans , 01 Oct 2008 | 00:00